Shimmy!

Ok...so, I was 99.9% wrong that day in Gainesville when I called my assistant coach a bitch. Yes, this sounds harsh but hear me out. Shimmy is a B. Not in the way you would call some girl that just stole your boyfriend or some guy that cut you off. She is the affectionate kind. A couple of my close friends only call each other the "B" word because that is how we show our affection for each other. So, I will now add Shimmy Gray-Miller to that list. Let me give you a little background.

It was 1st/2nd rounds of the NCAA my senior year. We were sent waaaay the heck down to Gainesville, FL to play Old Dominion (we won on a last second shot). Our curfew the night after that first game was 11pm. Of course, Shimmy, is knocking on every room to enforce it. I, like I always do, wanted to push my limits a little. Because I was injured and not playing I thought it would be ok if I went down to get a snack. Shimmy quickly put the kibosh on this which infuriated me. I quickly shut the door and said, "What a Bitch!". Not even 5 seconds later, I hear another bang on the door..."aw man, here we go", is what I thought. Yep, it was Shimmy and yep, she heard it. Now, Shimmy has beautiful light mocha skin but you would have thought for a second that she had just sat on the sun and sunburned her face. SHE WAS FURIOUS! She asked me what I just said....I replied, "nothing" and she shook her head. "yeah, that is what I thought." I consider myself lucky that she was in a position of power because if we were back in Flint, MI where she grew up, I would have been toast.

It took a couple of years for us to get over our beef with each other and man, am I happy we did. She is not only a rising star, head coach of the Saint Louis University 'Billikens' but also an amazing role model, friend, writer and individual. She most recently wrote about my story in her blog. Please check it out. If you thought my entry was funny and bold, you will love this. I have nothing on her. So, it is with great pride that I call Shimmy out of her name. I still won't do it in person though, she still can kick my ass. Love ya, Shimmy.